Black Sunday?

[RDJ]

Landscape Road?

That's it!

[Berries]

But surely (okay, I won't call you shirley), and maybe the statisticians on the forum can help out here; for that to be proven, one way or the other, we'd need to know a benchmark like for example, the mileage per day that a tourist drives compared to the Kiwi; so we can compare accident risks for the time on the road. Or maybe the percentage of tourists making up the population on the road at any given time; if say they represent 8% of all crashes down south but 10% of all drivers on the road, that would mean they are safer than us, would it? But heck, I barely scraped a C- pass in Statistics when it was a mandatory part of my uni course...

Nail on the head right there. Fact is we don't know whether 40% of the drivers in one area are from overseas or 60%. When they are involved in 50% of the crashes that makes a big difference. When people shout that ten times as many tourists crash in Queenstown than in Gore for instance it's like, yeah, no shit Sherlock.

Until we microschip every Johhny Foreigner who turns up on our shores we will never know the true picture. Some of the rental agencies can collate that information and some are now passing it on, but that only represents a certain type of visitor. Some 20yo German backbacker is not going to be hiring an Apex car for three months, they are going to jump on Trademe, buy a cheap van and remain invisible unless they crash.

[jasonu]

Ah, them wuz the daze. Day I turned 15 I I borrowed a friend's Vespa (my off-road bike was unroadworthy) and took my test on the steepest hill anyone knew of back then, off Mt Eden Road (can't remember the name of the street but near the Hillsborough end).

...

Landscape rd. I used to deliver milk up that street. I quit after 3 days...

[Voltaire]

Landscape rd. I used to deliver milk up that street. I quit after 3 days...

Back in the day I used to get my Z1000J up to 100 k going up there, wouldn't do it now as too many foreigners living up there now, and you know how its only them that do stupid things.....

Eventually I was knocked off by an old lady who came out of a side street...bloody pensioner cagers.

[Moi]

Back in the day I used to get my Z1000J up to 100 k going up there, wouldn't do it now as too many foreigners living up there now, and you know how its only them that do stupid things.....

Eventually I was knocked off by an old lady who came out of a side street...bloody pensioner cagers.

That last sentence conjures up many images...

BTW, did you ever try the same on the Bullock Track?

[Voltaire]

That last sentence conjures up many images...

BTW, did you ever try the same on the Bullock Track?

I was charged with Dangerous Driving as I was on a large bike and she only came thru a Give Way sign.... those MOT pricks.

Bullock Track was on the CB 500/4.

From never ridden a bike to SL 125 to CB 500/4 to Z1000 in the space of 18 months

I went overseas for 7 years after that and honed my skills on the mean streets of Sydney, London, and Europe.

These days its old bikes with 50/60 HP...

[jasonu]

That last sentence conjures up many images...

BTW, did you ever try the same on the Bullock Track?

I think landscape rd was steeper and longer than the Bullock Track. Prolly narrower if you count cars parked on both sides of the road which was mostly the case.

[Voltaire]

Hells Grannies

[RDJ]

I think landscape rd was steeper and longer than the Bullock Track. Prolly narrower if you count cars parked on both sides of the road which was mostly the case.

I don't know about narrower, depends how many cars are parked on either side, but certainly sure it's steeper...

Back in that day, helmets were not compulsory. The only way I could get my parents to agree to let me take my test was to buy a helmet. No one talked / knew much about helmets and boots and safety gear in those days, I think that (open face) helmet lasted me seven years... certainly the rest of secondary school and most of my uni course. On the other hand, the Army surplus boots I bought would generally wear out in less than a couple of years at most, due to them being used as brakes and as for gloves? we don't need no steenking gloves, gringo... The safety gear available on the market these days is truly excellent, although as always, it's worth paying for the more expensive stuff. Arai and Shoei helmets, Rev-It jackets, Draggin' Jeans and Timax gloves... all good, but not cheap.

[jasonu]

Back in that day, helmets were not compulsory..

You must be reeeaalllllyyy old.

[RDJ]

You must be reeeaalllllyyy old.

There is simply no truthful option but to plead guilty to that Jason, Your Honour

FYI: From 1955 NZ motorcyclists were required to wear helmets when exceeding 50 kilometres an hour. Helmets for motorcyclists and pillion riders became compulsory regardless of speed in 1973...

And can you believe there were actually scofflaws back in the day, who exceeded 30 miles an hour without a helmet??? I know, it beggars belief!!

[jasonu]

There is simply no truthful option but to plead guilty to that Jason, Your Honour

FYI: From 1955 NZ motorcyclists were required to wear helmets when exceeding 50 kilometres an hour. Helmets for motorcyclists and pillion riders became compulsory regardless of speed in 1973...

And can you believe there were actually scofflaws back in the day, who exceeded 30 miles an hour without a helmet??? I know, it beggars belief!!

I remember I think in the late 80's they made it possible to get a medical exemption for helmet wearing. The first 2 were in the Harold. An old lady who said a helmet gave her a headache and the biggest fattest maori bloke who claimed he couldn't find a helmet that was big enough.